Rotary pump



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ifm/W wrnryr Patented Dec. 22, 1925.

UNITED STATES ALONZO W. WHITCOMB, F WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS..

ROTARY 'PUMPL Application filed August 16, 1921. Serial No..492,727.

To all whom t 'may concern.'

Be it known that I, ALoNzo W. WHIT- coMB, a citizen of the United States, residing at Worcester, in the county of Worcester and State of `lVlassachusetts, have invented a new and useful Rotary Pump, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a pump adapted for use as an air compressor or air exhauster or for other similar purposes. It is the general object of my invention tol provide a pump for such purposes in which air, gas or other vapor is drawn into a pump chamber through the operation of water or other suitable liquid circulating within the chamber and acting by impulse or direct frictional contact on portions of air, gas or vapor introduced into the path of the liquid. Such a pump comprises few and simple parts and may be readily adapted to a wide variety of uses.

If the discharge outlet of the pump is closed or restricted, a heavy pressure may be built up within the pump. If a closed receptacle is connected to the inlet, a high degree of vacuum may be produced in the receptacle. Furthermore, the device may be used as a refrigerating machine by providing for the withdrawal of portions of the refrigerating liquid after the same has been cooled and condensed inthe pump chamber, the refrigerating liquid at the same time serving as the circulating medium of the pump.

An important feature of my invention relates to the provision of nozzles or orifices connected to the air, gas or vvapor supply and past or around which the circulating liquid flows. v f

A more specific feature of a certain embodiment of my invention relates to the provision of a rotating element through which the circulating liquid may be caused to travel in an upward and outward direction, said element being preferably provided with draft tubes and having `nozzles or orifices associated therewith through which air, gas or other vapor may be drawn into the pump chamber.

Other important features of my invention as thus embodied relate to means for circulating and controlling the flow of liquid within the pump chamber; to a specific construction ofH the driving shaft supporting the rotating parts; to details of construction of the draft tubes; to means for cooling the circulating liquid, and to other arrangements and combinations of parts which will be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

The broad features of my invention may be embodied in many different specific constructions and the,` drawings accompanying this application should be regarded as illustrative rather than as limiting the broad invention to a particular form of mechanism.

A specific embodiment of my invention is shown in the drawings, in which Fig. v1 is a sectional elevation of my improved pump, and y Fig. 2 is a'plan view, partly in section and taken along the lines 2 2 in Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, I have shown a rotary pump comprising a casing 10 preferably formed in two parts firmly secured together by binding screws 11. It is essential that the casing 10 shall be both air and water tight, and accordingly I provide a groove 12 in the lower part of the'casing ladapted to receive a circular rib 13 formed in the upper partl of the casing. A suitable packing 14 may also be provided in the l groove 12. A pipe 15 constitutes av discharge outlet for'the casing 10, and may be provided with any suitable valve or cock 16 to control the discharge therethrough.

The lower part ofthe casing 10 is preferably subdivided by fixed partitions 17 land is normally filled with water or other liquid extending approximately to the upper edges of said partitions. Deep notches orvopen- ,ings 18 are formed in the partitions and a ycoil of pipes 19 may be disposed in the bottom of the notches 18 asindicated in the drawings. A cooling medium may be circulated through the pipes 19 whenever it is desirable to cool the liquid in the casing 10.

A shaft 20 is mounted in the upper part of the casing 10 and is rotated by any suitable means, such as a belt running over a pulley 21. A rotating member 22 is threaded to the lower'end of the shaft 20, and an axial projection 23 of the rotating member 22 forms in effectV a continuation of the shaft 20 and yis provided with a .suporting ball thrust tending outer flange 25 which provides an inverted cup-like recess in said member.

A plurality of hollow arms 26 extend radially from the member 22 and are provided at their outer ends with draft tubes 27 extending rearwardly from the projecting arms.

As the shaft 2() is rapidly rotated in the direction of the arrow a in Fig. 2, the liquid in the casing 1() is drawn up through the interior of the member 22, and is discharged through the hollow arms 26 and the draft tubesY 27. Rapid rotary movement of the liquid in the lower part of the casing is found undesirable and the partitions 17 are provided largely for the purpose of interfering with and destroying Isuch movement.

A sleeve 28 is mounted on the inner upper edges of the partitions 17 and extends downward adjacent the outer surface of the flange 25, as shown in Fig. 1, the lower end of the sleeve 28 being turned inward and upward within the flange 25. The sleeve thus prevents contactof any considerable portion of the liquid with the outer face of the rapidly rotating flange 25.

A cover plate 29 is also supported by the partitions 17 and extends below the hollow arms 26 and the draft tubes 27. The outer edge of the cover plate 29 is spaced from the casing 1() to provide an annular opening through which the liquid discharged from the draft tubes may return to the lower portion of the casing. With this construction, the tangential motion of the liquid as discharged from the draft tubes is substantially lost before the liquid reaches the lower open end lof the member 22, where it is again drawn upward and delivered to the arms 26.

Nozzles 30 are mounted in the ends of the hollow arms 26 and preferably extend a short distance into the draft tubes 27 as shown in Fig. 2. The nozzles 30 are connected by tubes 31 to an axial opening 32 in the shaft 20. The opening 32 is closed at its lower end by the member 22 and extends upwardly within the shaft to cross openings 33 which communicate through an annular port 34 with an inlet pipe 35 which may be provided with any suitable valve 36.

The port 34 is formed in a bearing sleeve 37 which is slidable but non-rotatable in a hub 38 projecting from the casing 10. The pipe 35 extends through a slot 39 in the side of the hub, thus permitting vertical adjustment of the sleeve 37. A nut 40 is threaded in the upper end of the hub 38 and engages a shoulder on the sleeve 37, by which engagement the sleeve may be forced downwardly against a suitable packing 41. This packing is interposed between the beveled lower end of the sleeve 37 and the reversely beveled lower end of a recess 4 2 within which the packing is located.

A similar recess 43 is formed in the upper partof the sleeve 37 to receive a second packing 44 which is forced into the recess 43 by a beveled sleeve or bushing 45, moved downward by a member 46 threaded to the upper end of the sleeve 37. The member 46 also contains a ball bearing 47 for the upper end of the shaft 20. The packing 41 effectively prevents leakage between the interior of the casing 10 and the port 34, and the packing 44 prevents leakage between the port 34 and the external atmospliere.

The di aft tubes 27 are each restricted at an intermediate point 50 beyond the end of the associated nozzle 30 and are preferably enlarged or bell shaped at their outer ends. I have found by experiment that the particular' diameter of the restricted portion 50 of the draft tubes 27 has a very important bearing on the efficiency of my rotary pump, and I have determined that the cross sectional area of the opening at the restricted point should be very slightly greater than the area of the annular open ing around the nozzle 30 at the entrance of the draft tube.

Having described the construction of my improved pump, the operation thereof is as follows:

Power being applied to the shaft 2O through the pulley 21 or by other suitable means, the shaft 20, the rotary member 22, and the parts supported thereby are rapidly rotated in the direction of the arrowt a in Fig. 2. Such rotation causes the liquid inthe casing or chamber 10 to be drawn up through the interior of the member 22 and to be discharged through the hollow arms 26 and the draft tubes 27. Such movement of the liquid occurs largely as the effect of centrifugal force acting through the outwardly extending arms of the ro t-ating element, but is also due in part to the specific construction of the flange 25 which increases in diameter upwardly, as shown in Fig. 1.

As the liquid is thus discharged through the draft tubes 27, portions of air, gas or other vapor in the tubes 31 and nozzles 30 are caught by the rapidly flowing liquid and are carried along by impulse and frictional contact and are thus discharged into the interior of the casing 10, the operation somewhat resembling that of the familiar steam injector.

If the valve 16 in the discharge pipe 15 is closed, the pressure within the casing will be rapidly built up. If, on the other hand lthe pipe 15 is opened and the inlet pipe 35 is connected with a closed receptacle, the air or other vapor in such receptacle will be rapidly exhausted and a high degree of vacuum will be produced therein. The apparatus, therefore, is interchangeably useful for exhausting a receptacle connected to the inlet pipe or for supplying compressed air or other vapor at high pressurev at the discharge pipe.

The cooling pipes 19 are particularly useful when the device is used in connection with refrigerating apparatus. For such purposes an additional discharge outlet 51 may be provided below the normal level of the circulating liquid. This liquid is preferably also the refrigerating liquid and may be any one of the usual liquids used for the purpose. The liquid after being cooled and condensed is withdrawn through the outlet 51 and traverses the cooling system, expanding to a gas which returns to the chamber at a relatively low pressure. The gas is caught at the mouths of the nozzles and is projected into the chamber as previously described. It the pressure and temperature within the chamber are properly controlled, the returned gas will be condensed and will again become a part of the circulating liquid.

The condensation of the gas liberates heat which must be removed in some suitable way. This heat removal may be accomplished by the pipes 19, but very effectivev auxiliary cooling surfaces may be provided by means of a water jacket 52 in the cover portion of the casing 10. The mixed gas and liquid ejected from the tubes 27 then contacts with the jacketed wall of the casing in such a way as to be very effectively cooled.

Having thus described my invention it will be evident that changes -and modifications can be made therein by those skilled in the art within the -spirit and scope of my invention as set forth in the claims, and I do not wish to be otherwise limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim 1s:-

1. A rotary pump comprising a casing, a member mounted to rotate in said casing and having an inverted cup-like recessed depending projection open at its lower end and enlarged in diameter toward its upper end, arms extending outwardly from said member and having passages connected with said recess, draft tubes communicating with said passages and restricted in their intermediate portion, nozzles associated with said draft tubes and connected to a casing inlet, and a tixed sleeve closely surrounding said depending projection and also open at its lower end.

2. A rotary pump comprising a chamber adapted to contain liquid, a plurality of partitions in said chamber partially subdividing the liquid-containing portion thereof, a rotatable member having draft tubes mounted therein and supported above said partitions, and a cover plate centrally supported by said partitions between said draft tubes and the liquid-containing portion of said chamber and having an edge spaced from the wall of said chamber.

3. A rotary pump having a chamber, a member mounted to rotate in said chamber and comprising an inverted cup-like element, draft tubes rotatable with said member and in communication with the cup-like recess therein, and a fixed sleeve extending downward and closely surrounding said cup-like element, said sleeve being open at its lower end to admit liquid through said element to the draft tubes.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto afxed my signature.

ALONZO W. VVHITCOMB. 

